


heroics

by littleboxes



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Aroace Malcolm Reed (Enterprise), Bad Ending, Character Death, Episode: s01e16 Shuttlepod One, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt No Comfort, Hypothermia, Post-Episode: s01e16 Shuttlepod One, canon typical star trek bullshit science, could be read as suicidal behavior but its not based in self harm? if that makes sense?, it's not relevant i'm just projecting, its in the context of a survival scenario
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29855952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/littleboxes
Summary: "Computer, play—," his voice breaks. He breathes in, and his voice is unsteady as he says, "play Lieutenant Reed's final log recorded on shuttlepod one."
Relationships: Malcolm Reed & Charles "Trip" Tucker III
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14





	heroics

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beatles_bum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beatles_bum/gifts).



Malcolm stares at Tucker. Into his eyes, specifically, and he has a very good view from how close to him Tucker has gotten, yelling about heroics. He can barely feel the phaser in his hand, and he stares at Tucker—Trip. Surely this situation, if any, warrants his use of the nickname, however internal.

He's only just starting to figure Trip out, but he stares into Trip's eyes as he threatens to kill himself for Malcolm, and knows: he would. He will. Maybe not now, maybe Malcolm's talked him down. But they have ten hours for his _heroics_ to come round again.

Malcolm has no illusions about how this is going to end for both of them, much as he would like to, but how on earth can he live with himself if he lets Trip do that for him?

He grips the phaser with numb hands.

It's over so quickly there isn't even a shocked expression on Trip's face. His stunned body slumps forward onto Malcolm, and he doesn't have the energy to push him away. Besides, they need all the warmth they can get, now.

Normally, the stun would wear off sooner than ten hours, but given the close range and the extreme cold, Malcolm thinks it's going to be a while until Trip wakes up.

He looks down at Trip's body. Rests a shaking hand on his shoulder, and forces himself to move. He unwraps the blanket from his own shoulders, and wraps it around Trip. It takes longer than it should, because they _won't. Stop. Shaking._ But eventually Trip is under as many layers as they have available.

It's selfish of him, really. It's like he said earlier; it's cowardice to choose death and leave someone behind with that sacrifice on their shoulders. Is it less cowardly if your death isn't any less slow than theirs?

But then, Trip was the one to chastise his _pessimism_. The Enterprise, against all sense, is fine. The crew is alive. _His_ crew, alive.

Both Malcolm and Trip will make it through this, alive, and with no lasting effects besides, perhaps, a distaste for the cold (at least on Malcolm's part.) Maybe if he thinks it hard enough, T'pol will pick it up through sheer force of repetition. Somebody has to be the optimist, now, and somehow Malcolm doubts Trip is up to it.

He looks at Trip's _unconscious_ body. This is just... a precaution. A precaution against Trip Tucker's dangerously large heart.

He can't feel his hands, or his legs, but he forces himself over to the computer panel anyway. A precaution, is all. Nothing wrong with a second one.

"T-t-this i-is Lieutenant M-Malcolm R-Reed. W-we have a-b-bout t-ten hours of a-air left..."

"There! The shuttlepod, it's intact, and—dead in the water?"

"The grapplers, now! Life signs?"

"I—it's, it's the shuttlepod, sir; the temperature is at _negative ten centigrade_ , the scanners can't pick anything up because of the cold."

"Archer, to sickbay. Phlox, get down to docking bay three, _now!_ "

"Doctor! How are they?"

Phlox lowers the tri-corder from Commander Tucker's prone body.

"Commander Tucker is suffering from a severe case of hypothermia, and had we been any later, there would be complications. Even so, he will likely have an increased sensitivity to cold in the future at minimum—"

"And Lieutenant Reed?"

Phlox lowers his eyes.

"I am... sorry, Captain."

Trip stares at the white Sickbay walls.

_Trip's eyes flash open and he sits up. Or, tries, and is gently but forcefully shoved back down into the bed by a Denobulan hand._

_"That damn British bastard!"_

_He looks up to see Captain Archer standing at his bedside, T'pol next to him._

_"Where is he? I'm gonna—"_

_He looks at the Captain. He looks—the only word for it is grave._

_"Reed. The Lieutenant, where is he? Is he okay?"_

_The Captain's eyes darken. He looks down. Beside him, T'pol stiffens almost imperceptibly. The way she does whenever she's feeling a pesky,_ human _emotion. Trip feels a cold rock drop to the bottom of his stomach.  
_

_"Captain._ Jon _. Malcolm—he's okay,_ right? _"_

_"Trip..." Archer says, lines of his face breaking as he speaks._

_Trip closes his eyes. Suddenly, he feels so horribly aware of how many beds there are in Sickbay. The only labored breathing he's heard throughout this entire conversation is his own._

They're very bright. Soothing, apparently. He thinks about the grey walls of shuttlepod one and thinks it's going to be a long time before he'll be able to step foot into a shuttlepod without getting sick.

He can taste bourbon in his mouth.

Well, never- _fuckin'_ -mind. Apparently he won't even need to get out of bed for that _joy_.

He's being discharged back to his own quarters.

_"Trip... Lieutenant Reed-Malcolm. He, he recorded a log—"_

_"Yeah, I know. I had to- to listen to enough of 'em—"_

_"No, Trip. He—after he stunned you, he recorded a log. He, it. We had to cut it off, after a certain point. The computer, it um. It never stopped recording."_

The walls of his quarters are a picturesque grey compared to Sickbay white, and they don't make him feel any less numb.

"Computer, play—," his voice breaks. He breathes in, and his voice is unsteady as he says, "play Lieutenant Reed's final log recorded on shuttlepod one."

"This is Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. We have about ten hours of air left, and I'm—ha, I'm reasonably sure this is going to be my final log. Apologies to Commander Tucker for my pessimism, but I have to make up for my _damnable heroics_ somehow, don't I? 

I'm sure that in a few hours, when we're back alive and well on the Enterprise and we're listening to this, you'll laugh at me for my dramatics.

...I. I hope that's what we'll be doing, at least.

Oh... what was I saying...? Yes, yes. Enterprise. Right. I do hope Doctor Phlox doesn't have any trouble with those phaser burns. They're the least of our problems right now, but even on stun, the new EM-33s at such close range can leave... leave, er, burns...

The burns. _Focus_ , Malcolm. Terribly sorry, Trip, about the phaser. Rude of me. Oh. I seem to have lost my train of thought. Damn it. What was I going to say?

Enterprise. The crew. What about the crew? Hm. D'you know, ha, Trip, I never did figure out how Captain Archer knew I liked pineapple..."

[Log ends.]

**Author's Note:**

> symptoms of severe hypothermia: exhaustion or feeling very tired, confusion, memory loss


End file.
